Wordsmithery*

Wordsmithery is delighted to publish poet Setareh Ebrahimi’s first full length collection 'Galloping Horses'.

 

"Mothers wear many hats but can never shed the one marked "mother". Setareh Ebrahimi reflects on a stage of life that never ends, in a cracked mirror that reveals much and hints at other secrets as yet unwritten." Barry Fentiman Hall

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"Galloping Horses is like a haunted forest: it brims with versions of a self that have 'observed from corners / with unblinking eyes'. Whether exploring the layers of desire, cultural politics or parent-child bonds, Setareh Ebrahimi's poetry is consistently lively and insightful. 'Aren't the most precious spaces / in a house pointless?' asks the opening stanza. These are poems where language stuns and reveals, where loss can surprise afresh after decades and laughter 'sounds like cracking'. I urge you to read them."  John McCullough

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"Setareh Ebrahimi's poetry is that which is ‘observed from corners with unblinking eyes'. Whatever she turns her gaze to, be it motherhood, love, family, world events, her locality or experiences such as a claustrophobic childhood, unthinking casual racism, or the agonies of adolescence, she writes with a fresh eye producing arresting imagery and beautifully crafted lines. At times there is a surreal other worldly quality, at others reality is examined with an almost clinical precision. This collection welcomes everyone to its 'Flotsam feast' where no one goes hungry and it is my belief anyone reading this who is hungry for words and the power they can hold will go away sated." Charlotte Ansell  

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Setareh Ebrahimi is an Iranian-British poet. She completed her Bachelor’s in English Literature at The University of Westminster in 2014, and her Master’s in English and American Literature at The University of Kent in 2016. She has been published numerous times in various journals and magazines, including Proletarian Poetry, The Menteur and Ink Sweat & Tears. Her poetry has also been anthologised numerous times, most recently by Eibonvale Press.

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Setareh released her first pamphlet of poetry, In My Arms, from Bad Betty Press in 2018. She regularly performs her poetry in Kent and London, has hosted her own poetry evenings and leads writing workshops. Setareh is currently a contributing editor for Thanet Writers and a reviewer at Confluence Magazine. Setareh has been nominated for The Pushcart Prize and in 2018 was one of the poets in residence of The Margate Bookie, at The Turner Contemporary Gallery.

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Reviews of In My Arms

‘The mood of In My Arms is breathless, deathless, hushed, brimming with imagery that engages and intoxicates the senses.’ Ink, Sweat & Tears

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‘The debut pamphlet from Setareh Ebrahimi announces a new talent for a new era in spoken word and live literature. The ‘secret weight’ of this book is its ability to fuse surreal lyricism and powerful imagery.’ Joelle Taylor

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More info about Setareh: 

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Read Setareh Ebrahimi's poem for our project An Assemblance of Judicious Heretics - 'Wild Garlic'.

Blog: https://setarehebrahimi.tumblr.com/

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